Durban - A total of 16 000 people landed jobs on the three towers of uMhlanga’s landmark Pearls development, Premier Senzo Mchunu was told on Tuesday.
And 650 local workers are now busy on the third and final tower - called Pearl Sky - with 2 620 of their family members benefiting from the project.
Mother-of-two Gugu Mlandwa, who works as a labourer on the project, is one of the workers who on Tuesday met the premier during his walkabout at the Pearl Sky construction site, which is now at the fifth level of the 32-storey building.
The R3-billion Pearls of uMhlanga Project, which began 12 years ago, is being developed by Anant Singh, the locally-based movie mogul.
Pearl Sky was launched a year ago.
By the time the third tower of the big development is finished, there will be more than 700 apartments in the development, as well as a boutique shopping centre - Pearl Walk - with 15 shops, which is due to be completed in November.
Some of the country’s biggest retail brands have already signed up.
The Pearl of uMhlanga Development company on Tuesday announced that 41 sea-facing apartments in Pearl Sky have just been released for sale.
They are from the 26th floor upwards, with another seven still available in the lower levels.
People who bought in the first tower 10 years ago have probably had the value of their apartments doubled, Singh told the premier at a press conference.
The city already benefits by some R35 million a year from the rates that owners pay - and that was before the new 7% hike kicked in.
Thanking Singh for providing employment opportunities for the workers, the premier said that The Pearls was changing the face of uMhlanga and Durban.
It was a beautiful, tasteful development and if people around the world were able to see images on TV, they would marvel at what was going up in Durban.
He told how 200 former South Africans, now living in Australia, were “blown away” when they recently saw a video of The Pearls.
Joseph Khoza, risk manager for the main contractor, Group Five Coastal Management, acting as agents of Group Five Construction Ltd, said that to date 34 000 cubic metres of concrete had been poured at the Pearl Sky site and 64 000 square metres of decks had been cast.
Daily News